The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.

Lippmann’s line frames leadership less as perpetual brilliance than as the capacity to design durable conditions—institutions, procedures, incentives, and clear aims—that ordinary people can carry forward. “Genius” here is not showy inspiration but the foresight to simplify complexity, reduce dependence on exceptional talent, and make success reproducible. The best leader, in this view, is almost self-effacing: he leaves behind a workable situation in which “common sense” can operate without needing continual heroic interventions. The quote also implies a critique of charismatic or improvisational rule—if outcomes require genius at every step, the system is fragile. True leadership is measured by what remains functional after the leader is gone.